Will bring white papers on flood, wildlife conservation: Gogoi

Guwahati: Accusing the BJP and Asom Gana Parishad of playing politics over flood and poaching of rhinos, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday announced that his government will bring out two white papers on flood relief and wildlife conservation to "expose" the opposition parties.

Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat here, Gogoi said "the opposition parties always keep on saying that our government has failed on all fronts. I am ready to bring out white papers on any issue which will show what they did during their rule and what my government has done."

He said the white papers on `Flood Relief` and `Wildlife and Forest Conservation` would highlight the work done by the Congress government in Assam and the UPA government at the centre and also contain facts about initiatives taken by the previous AGP regime in the state and the NDA at the centre.

The Chief Minister, however, did not provide any time frame for the release of the two white papers. The state government is, meanwhile, scheduled to release a white paper on the issue of illegal immigration on October 7.

"We have taken all measures to mitigate the suffering of the people affected by flood...And our performance in wildlife conservation is one of the best in the country," Gogoi said.

He said the NDA government of AB Vajpayee gave only Rs 59 crore when Assam suffered a massive flood calamity in 1998, while during the UPA government`s time Rs 211 crore was provided in 2004, Rs 300 crore in 2008 and over Rs 500 crore this year.

"They only talk big. Even when BJP leader Bijoya Chakravarty was Union Water Resources Minister, Assam only got Rs 225 crore for various projects under water resources. Under the UPA, we have secured Rs 1,722 crore from the Centre.

"Our performance is better in all fields and we will lay bare all facts in the white papers," Gogoi said.